Cloud of Witnesses

This project serves as the symbolic heart to Oxford Terrace Baptist Church. The project is intended to both mark the centrality of baptism in the life of the church and celebrate the long history of the congregation on the site.

Historically, baptismals were located near the doors of a church—or even in a separate building just outside—symbolising the role of the baptism rite in marking entry into the church community. However, most contemporary ‘full immersion’ baptismals are built into the floor of the worship space, hidden beneath a removable panel, giving them little visual presence.

Here, the baptismal is located in full view in a prominent space at the center of the parish complex, placed between the entry, the worship space, and the parish facilities—life in this building literally and symbolically revolves around the baptismal.

To frame the baptismal and amplify its symbolic presence, the church requested an installation for the space around it, although only a minimal budget was available for the project. Our proposal, inspired by an important bible verse that refers to the members of the church as “a great cloud of witnesses”, was for a “cloud” formed from the names of 500 families from the 150-year history of the church. These names were taken from the church’s archive of historic baptismal registers, commemorating its history in very personal and specific terms—many parishioners and visitors have connections to families named. By fabricating the installation from timber salvaged from the quake destroyed building, the space also recalls the physical history of the congregation on the site.

Above these names, the translucent ceiling acts as a light box, emitting a soft, cloud-like light down between the timber plaques. Water, central to the symbolism of baptism, is brought into the space though a custom-made metal spout constantly pouring water into a simple glass bowl. A display case presents one of the original baptismal resisters, showing some of the names included on the ceiling.

The timber of the plaques evokes the quake-destroyed building, while the evolving handwriting styles evoke the passage of time. The installation captures both the 150-year history of the congregation and the new life symbolized by baptism. Here, those baptized literally and symbolically join the ‘cloud of witnesses’ and extend the church’s history.

CLIENT Oxford Terrace Baptist Church

LOCATION Christchurch

YEARS 2018

PROJECT TEAM Andrew Barrie, Woomin Lee

CONSTRUCTION TEAM Andrew Barrie Lab

PHOTOGRAPHY Patrick Reynolds